Team Canada won four medals this past weekend at the 2024 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. On Saturday, Canadian Olympic silver medalist Kim Boutin of Sherbrooke, Quebec won gold in the women’s 500 metres and Canadian Olympic gold medalist Jordan Pierre-Gilles of Sherbrooke won bronze in the men’s 500 metres. On Sunday, William Dandjinou of Sherbrooke won gold in the men’s 1000 metres and Canada struck bronze in the women’s 3000 metre relay. The Canadian team contained Boutin, Danae Blais of Chateauguay, Quebec, Rikki Doak of Fredericton, New Brunswick, and Renee Marie Steenge of Etobicoke, Ontario.
Boutin posted a winning time of 42.626 seconds. Sandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands won the silver medal with a time of 42.833 seconds. Kristen Santos-Griswold of the United States won the bronze medal with a time of 42.929 seconds. Boutin reached the podium by 16.023 seconds over Selma Poutsma of the Netherlands, who had a time of 58.649 seconds.
Gilles posted a time of 52.289 seconds. Xiaojun Lin of China won the gold medal with a time of 41.592 seconds. Denis Nikisha of Kazakhstan won the silver medal with a time of 41.676 seconds. Pierre-Gilles won the bronze medal by 3.123 seconds over fellow Canadian Steven Dubois of Laval, Quebec, who had a time of 55.412 seconds.
Dandjinou posted a winning time of 1:25.534. Pietro Sighel of Italy won the silver medal with a time of 1:25.555. Luca Spechenhauser won the bronze medal with a time of 1:26.026.
In the women’s 3000 metre relay, Canada had a time of 4:12.675. The Netherlands won gold with a time of 4:07.788. The United States won silver with a time of 4:08.061. Canada reached the podium by 2.181 seconds over South Korea, which had a time of 4:15.856.
Boutin won the silver medal for Canada in the women’s 1000 metres at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. Pierre-Gilles won the gold medal for Canada in the men’s 5000 metre relay at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The medals for Boutin, Pierre-Gilles, Dandjionou, Blais, Doak and Steenge will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
